The present invention relates to the technical field of transporting buildings such as manufactured houses and offices from the manufacturing facility to a desired location or site and the placement and securing of the building on a foundation. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus integrated in the exterior walls of the building with which the building may be lifted, secured to a transporting vehicle such as a trailer, and secured to a building foundation.
Manufactured houses, apartments and office buildings have been known and now used for decades. Such buildings are made at manufacturing facilities and are, thereafter, transported on large trailers to the desired location. Although these buildings are manufactured with wood frame (2xc3x974 or 2xc3x976 wall studs and plates, etc.), because they are manufactured in an assembly line type operation, out of the weather and within large manufacturing facilities, there is a significant reduction in manufacturing costs. However, because the building must be transported to its desired location or site, during transport, severe vibrations are encountered which can loosen or diminish the integrity of the building. Additionally, because of such vibrations and/or swaying of the structure during transport, rigid materials such as drywall or plaster are avoided on the interior walls since they will inevitably crack and require repair. Rather, the walls are typically finished with panels made of wood or other materials and the seams therebetween are covered with batten strips. In this manner, sufficient flexibility is provided so that the structure remains intact and so that visible wall cracks are prevented during transport. Unfortunately, this type of wall finish is typically undesirable thereby reducing the potential market value of the building.
In addition to the foregoing drawbacks, manufactured houses and buildings have also become known for their inability to withstand severe storms and weather. This is typically because once transported to the site, the building can not be properly secured to the foundation. Therefore, severe winds tend to more easily blow over a manufactured house or building as compared to a traditionally built house or building.
Various attempts have previously been made to address the foregoing described shortcomings and drawbacks. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,325 discloses incorporating load bearing structures into a housing unit for lifting and transporting. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,054; U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,531; U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,776; U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,389; U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,993; U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,061; and, U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,861 disclose various structures for tieing down a building made of wood frame or other construction to a foundation.
Although attempts have been made at addressing various prior needs for transporting manufactured buildings and for securing buildings to foundations they fall short of effectively and economically addressing the foregoing described needs. Accordingly, it has been discovered that an overall system including an apparatus and method is needed for lifting and transporting a manufactured building while retaining the structure rigidly secure and for, thereafter, properly securing the building to a foundation.
The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus and method for use with manufactured buildings whereby the building may readily easily and efficiently be lifted for placing on a transportation vehicle, for securing the building to the vehicle and, after transport, for lifting the building and placing on a foundation and for securing the building to the foundation.
Briefly, the present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for lifting buildings of wood frame and having exterior walls made of vertical studs and horizontal upper and lower plates. Wood beams, typically 2xc3x974 or larger, extend between the exterior walls forming the floor and ceiling frames. The apparatus is further adapted for securing the building to a foundation which is typically made of poured concrete or cinder blocks. The foundation has a bearing upper surface and a vertical exterior or outer wall.
The apparatus includes a plurality of elongate members such as threaded rod extending vertically through the building exterior walls between the wall studs. A lower beam is provided below the lower wall plate and/or below the floor joists and is attached to each of the respective elongate members. An upper beam is provided over the upper plates and is attached to each of the respective elongate members. A lift element, preferably an eyelet, is threadingly received on and thus attached to each of the elongate members. By threading the eyelet onto the elongate member or threaded rod, the upper and lower beams are forced toward one another placing the elongate member in tension and compressing or forcing the upper and lower plates toward the wall studs. In this manner, the upper and lower wall plates and/or the floor joists are sandwiched and retained rigidly together between the upper and lower beams. For lifting the building, crane cables need only be attached to the eyelets of the apparatus and the building lifted therewith for placement onto a transportation vehicle or a foundation.
Preferably, each of the lower and upper beams are steel angles having two legs with one leg being generally coplanar with the 2xc3x974 plates and the other being coplanar with the building wall. This provides significant stiffening of the structure when the beams are compressed or forced toward one another. Additionally, when the building is placed on a foundation, the steel angle functioning as a lower beam is placed such that its vertical leg is coplanar and adjacent to the foundation outer wall. Fasteners such as screws may then be inserted through holes on the angle leg and into aligned bores in the foundation thereby efficiently and rigidly securing the apparatus and building onto the foundation.
Further yet, when transporting the building, after placing the building on a transportation vehicle such as a trailer, the steel angle vertical leg is adapted to be located adjacent pivotable trailer outriggers. The angle leg is detachably attachable to the trailer outriggers with fasteners such as screws or bolts extending through the angle leg holes and into the outriggers. In this manner, the building is also efficiently and rigidly secured onto the trailer during transport thereby generally eliminating a need for securing the building with straps and chains. Very advantageously, however, in view of the upper and lower beams being compressed or forced toward one another, the building walls are more capable of withstanding the vibrations and other forces experienced during transport, thereby generally preventing any cracks from occurring in the building interior finished walls which may be made of drywall or other similar stiff materials.
In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for lifting a building having walls made of vertical studs and horizontal upper and lower plates and for securing the building to a foundation having an outer wall. The apparatus includes a plurality of elongate members extending vertically through one or more of the building exterior walls. A plurality of lower beams are attached to one or more elongate members below the lower wall plate. A plurality of upper beams are each attached to one or more elongate members above the upper wall plate. A lift element is attached to a least one of the elongate members or upper beams whereby the building can be lifted. The lower beam includes a leg extending adjacent the foundation outer wall and a fastener is provided for attaching the leg to the foundation outer wall.
In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for lifting a building having walls made of vertical studs and horizontal upper and lower plates. A plurality of elongate members extend vertically through one or more of the building walls. A plurality of lower beams are each attached to one or more elongate members and are located generally below the lower wall plate. A plurality of upper beams are each attached to one or more elongate members and are located generally above the upper wall plate. A lift element is attached to at least one of the elongate members or upper beams whereby the building can be lifted.
In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for securing a building having walls made of vertical studs and horizontal upper and lower plates to a foundation having an outer wall. The apparatus includes a plurality of elongate members extending vertically through one or more of the building walls. A plurality of lower beams are each attached to one or more elongate members and are located generally below the lower wall plate. A plurality of upper beams are each attached to one or more elongate members and are located generally above the upper wall plate. The lower beam includes a leg extending adjacent to foundation outer wall. A fastener is provided for attaching the leg to the foundation outer wall.
In one form thereof, the present invention is directed to a method of transporting a building having walls made of vertical studs and horizontal upper and lower plates to a foundation having an outer wall. The method uses an apparatus including elongate members extending vertically through one or more of the building walls, a plurality of lower beams attached to one or more elongate members and located generally vertically below the lower plate, a plurality of upper beams attached to one or more elongate members and located generally above the upper wall plate, and a lift element attached to at least one of the elongate members or upper beams. The method includes the steps of lifting the building from the lift elements and placing the building onto a transporting vehicle, transporting the building with the vehicle to a desired location and, lifting the building from the lift elements off of the vehicle and placing the building onto a foundation.